Hi mamas! I was looking around and did not see any current threads on the topic. I am noticing that this pregancy is very different than my other two, in the way I view it and symptoms. Having a nursing relationship and being pregnant is a lot to deal with. And I have new concerns as far as nutritional and emotional. Anyone else out there pregnant and nursing?

My name is Brandi and I am currently nursing my 2 y dd. I am only 6.5 weeks along, but have been feeling different with my nursing relationship. I don't plan on weaning, but my nipples are extremely sore. I cringe every time she latches on, it is not so bad once she gets going. My breast are heavy and full, and sometimes I just don't want to nurse her, especially when she just wants to go back and forth. I have been trying to redirect, but sometimes it just seems to break her heart. I don't want nursing to turn into a battle, but sometimes I am just not up for it. Hoping this will pass, as it is the first trimester.

Hi there. I'll join ya. I'm 8 weeks pg with #2. Ds is 16 months and still nursing. I don't want to wean him, but this has been hard on me so far. It is very painful not just when he latches on but the entire time he is nursing. And for some reason, he is asking to nurse a lot more and gets very upset if I try to distract him. There are times that I really not up for it either.

I also have lots of concerns both nutritional and emotional too. I have not been wanting to eat at all and I wonder if nursing could be taking away nutrition from the new baby. I also have concerns about my ability (mental) to nurse 2. Ds will only be 2 when the baby is born and I wasn't planning on weaning him until he is ready.

Hello calla lily Nice to know I am not alone. I think our concerns are valid and not unreasonable, I also think there is an answer, and that we can make it through. My nursing relationship is an important one. So, you are thinking you will be tandem nursing too? I plan on it, if dd is still nursing. She will be almost three when my next wee one is born. My first two are just two years apart, but I was not nursing my first dd, she weaned at 11 months (another story). I have heard wonderful things about this book: adventures in tandem nursing: breastfeeding during pregnancy and beyond I am going to borrow it at the next LLL meeting if it is back in our LLL library, otherwise, I may just purchase it myself.

A friend of mine nursed through her pregnancy, and for her the pain went away after the first trimester, she still had a hard time off and on, mostly emotionally. As it is hard tending a toddler while pregnant nursing or not! I am determined to enjoy this pregnancy and to continue to love and nourish my dd. I think it is normal to not have much of an appetite during the first trimester as well. I don't have much of one either, more due to nothing sounding appealing than nausea. I think protein is essential. And is also good for keeping nausea at bay. Hang in there!
Brandi

It was really hard in the first few of weeks. my nipples were sore, i had (and still have) morning sickness... tristan began to nurse twice as much as soon as i became pregnant. I had a little dip in my milk at the height of my nausea, when i was dehydrated. I recovered quickly with my midwife's help.

i just wanted to say that while it is hard, it isnt going to harm your new baby. keep hydrated and dont worry about how much you eat. try to keep eating a little bite every 20 minutes even,to keep your mood even. I think 90% of it is emotional. Like you said, it is hard being pregnant with a toddler to care for whether you are nursing or not- and think how much harder it might be if you didnt have your nursing relationship to help keep things smooth sailing sometimes!

the greatest challenge for me has been sleep. Tristan nurses thru the night, and with having to get up and pee each night i have a hard time keeping him settled. we have finally found a way that i can sleep. before nighttime,we try to always be sure tristan has a good meal,as if he doesnt he will nurse and cry in his sleep, keeping us awake. he nurses to sleep, next to me and daddy,and i nrse him when he wakes. them,when he wakes forthe morning, dh takes himand plays with him and gets him breakfast while i sleep in until dh leaves for work. I also nap with tristan during the day whenever possible.

Thank you for your input Tabitha! It is hard when it comes to nursing at night. Eve had nightweaned a while back but she has been trying to start it up again. Most nights we are good, but some nights she just wants to hang on all night. It is good to know that it can get better. Nursing her is a blessing, even though sometimes difficult, I don't know what I would do in some instances if we did not have nursing to help us through.

Ugh, I feel like I am getting a cold today. I DON'T want to be sick for Thanksgiving! It is bad enough having food aversions:

glad i'm not the only one in this boat. i was gonna post today about this ver topic. it is so painful when my dd latches on. we successfully night weaned earlier this fall so that isn't a problem. she still wakes up now and again and might even ask but i usually say meme's are sleeping and she goes right back to sleep. somtimes i can redirect and she doesn't get too upset and sometimes i know it's the best thing, especially if she's melting down.

i don't actually see myself tandem nursing. dd is 2-1/2 now and will be close to 3-1/2 when the baby arrives. i'm just not sure i'm up for nursing throughout the pg and afterwards. i'm not sure madison has the mentality to share her meme's. i could be wrong and for now i'm taking it one day at a time.

childofthemoon, i wanted to check that book out at our last meeting but one of the leaders took it first grumble grumble LOL! i hope she turns it in by the next meeting. i really need to read it. :LOL

Ugh, I remember the nausea. Just not fun -- with toddler or without. With nursing or without. Nausea is the pits!

I'm 23 weeks along now (or 24? I can't keep it straight). My DS will be two the day after T-day. We're certainly the oddballs when it comes to nursing and pregnancy. I've never had any pain during the first trimester or later. I still have plenty of milk. I haven't felt any hormonal urges to get the toddler off me. I feel very lucky.

And, my heart goes out to you those both you Brandi & cala lily experiencing pain. That's just no fun. I've heard that if you experience pain during the 1st trimester in most women it lasts 6 weeks and then lets up. A friend of mine had her 6 weeks marked on the calendar. She would cross of days and the pain did let up before she got to 6 weeks.

Adventures In Tandem Nursing really is a wonderful read. It's worth owning. It's great whether you're actually planning on tandem nursing, considering it, or planning to wean during pregnancy. I love the chapter on what happens to breastmilk scientifically during pregnancy. It's sooo cool!

I wouldn't worry about lack of appetitie during 1st trimester, it's just about getting through. Eat what you want when you can. Upping the protein like Brandi said is always good. Your unborn babe will get all the nutrients it needs and then your body sends nutrients for making milk for your toddler and then what's left over goes to your body. I think that's why I've been more tired this pregnancy. Growing a baby, chasing a toddler, nursing (10+ times a day), etc.

I'm glad there are other mothers committed to letting their children wean when they're ready. I think it makes a big difference in the long run.

I empathize on how you're feeling about nursing... I'm going through a lot of that myself (not the sore nipples, though, thank goodness... got enough of that with my pg with ds).

I'm about 16 1/2 wks, and I'm hoping to tandem nurse (in part because I hope it eases the transition for ds).

We did night wean about a month after I got pg, and I think that was a good idea for us.

I have felt a lot better in the 2nd tri, so there's hope for you 1st tri gals!

Ds *is* nursing less than he used to during the day... part of it is that we're busier, I'm sure part of it is spillover from the night weaning... I'm both sad and relieved. But he still nurses a lot...

hi guys! well i'm here too, with pain. I am 8 wks and nursing my almost 2 year old. i was having some easily managable nipple pain until a few days ago. now it's much worse and today it felt like razor blades when he latched on! fortunately, after he's on for a minute it's not so bad. i worry about nutrition too 'cause i'm having morning sickness for the first time in my life and i have so many aversions! my body is obviously craving protien though. guess what i have not had aversions to? eggs, cheese, and peanut butter! diet of champions right? anyway, the last two days have been much better from the m/s perspective and i am eating a nice healthy bowl of oatmeal right now! i do want to keep nursing as long as possible and i'm not opposed to trying tandem nursing. we'll see what he thinks in the next few months!

I am just so thankful for mdc! It is nice to have a place to come to and find someone who understands. Thank you ladies! Please everyone keep in touch with how you are doing it. Today was easier it seems. I think you all gave me some peace of mind.

Hello to all you mamas from the nursing mamas ttc thread, it is so nice to catch up with you again

It is so nice to know that there is hope that the pain may let up soon! Time to get things done, I have been so tired today, I fell asleep on the couch, until dd2 wacked me in the face saying mommy wake up! stop sleeping! She thinks naps are only for little girls.

Great thread, and so timely for me, too. Nursing just started getting uncomfortable {sometimes painful} about two weeks ago. It's really an inital thing since the discomfort subsides pretty quickly. Although I have noticed my nipples are much more sensitive then they were. And something about nursing, particularly in the AM, triggers waves of nausea.

Ds is 18 months old, been nightweaned for a while now, but was nursing a LOT {7+ times/day} until this week. Now we're down to three times/day. Part of me is wondering if it's a weaning thing since he doesn't seem really interested in nursing {a minute or less, pulls off, does it again, pulls off, walks away to play, etc.}. Time will tell, I suppose, but I really hate the thought of losing that one on one time with him ~ pregnancy hormone alert here.

I haven't really thought much about tandem nursing, though, as I just figured I'll do what ds and the new baby need when the time comes. But it is a relief to know that the pain is likely to subside. I think I feel like if I can get through this razor-blade feeling, I can handle most anything nursing has to offer.

Count me in! I'm so happy to see this thread! And happy to see so many people in it!

I'm Alice and I'm breastfeeding my daughter who will soon be 3. I am 30 weeks pregnant with #2.

ChildoftheMoon- this pregnancy feels a lot different to me, too - different symptoms, etc. My midwife tells me that that can mean the opposite gender.

Sparklin is correct about the nutrients going first to the fetus, then to the milk, then to you. Drink when you're thirsty, eat when you're hungry, and don't worry that breastfeeding might be depriving the fetus of nutrients.

-Alice, SAHM to dd (2001) and ds (2004) each of whom was a , who each self-weaned at 4.5 years , who both 'd, who were both, and both: . Also, , and !

Hi Alice Glad you joined us. I have been thinking about the oppisite gender thing, but I am not going to put too much into it (though I do think I will have a boy this time, at least today I do ) because both my pregnancies with my girls where quite different. There were some similarities, but not much. I even carried differently! I was so convinced I was having a boy last time!

nak-my two year old is mauling me right now, not really nursing but definately attatched and very wiggly. She wants to nursed for like two hours straight in the morning, maybe making up for not being able to nurse at night? The last few nights were smooth and restful, but last night she wanted to nurse so badly. I am so afraid if I give in, that she will start it up on a regular basis again, and at the same time feel guilty for telling her not until the morning. I offer her water, but that just didn't cut it. I slept most of the night with her stretched out on my tummy like when she was a newborn. I don't mind sleeping like this, but she kept waking up. I even had to walk her around the living room, cooing her back to sleep. I think she may still be adjusting to moving as well, she slept so well at the other house. Too many changes in the last month, we are still trying to figure out our routine.
Goodmoring to you all!
Brandi

I'm new to this forum and so glad to see this thread!! I am 10 weeks pg. with my second, and my daughter, who is 26 months, is still a pretty frequent nurser. I haven't had any nipple pain so far, but have had much more nausea and fatigue than I did with my first. I am constantly thirsty, even with a drink constantly at hand, and have been having more intense food cravings this time around. I am waiting until dd is ready to wean on her own, so I forsee tandem nursing in our future- I know that in some women, their milk will dry up around the 4th month of pregnancy, and I'm a little worried about how my dd might react if this happens to us.

I am expecting my 8th baby, and still nursing #7. I am almost 12 weeks. I have gotten pregnant while nursing 6 times now. The last 5 weaned during the pregnancy. My #3 baby nursed until 2 weeks before #4 was born, he was 3 1/2 when he weaned. My dd nursed until I was 6 months with my last baby.

It has often been uncomfortable. But I guess never really unbearable. I still always felt responsible for them weaning, and worried that I rushed them into it by getting pregnant. I have found it much easier to let Gunnar nurse as much as he wants at night, because I can usually sleep through it. It is easier to distract him during the day if I am not up to nursing. I am perfectly fine with him nursing the whole way, and with tandem nursing after the birth.

I was feeling VERY hungry while he was nursing, to the point of my stomach realy growling and hurting. It has subsided a bit lately though.

Well, not much else to say....I am still sooooo tired. I really should go to bed before 12:00am! :LOL

I'm still nursing our two year old and it is very painful. I'm 18 weeks pg and he still insists on nursing, so, I let him..... Sometimes, I just can't take the pain and just tell him no. Poor baby. But I'll do it untill I either die or just can't!! I love to nurse him....

What a great thread! I am almost 11 weeks and nursing my 22 month old dd. It has been painful at times. The worst times were when I was nauseous and she wanted to nurse. I would have to break the latch to go vomit and she would throw a fit. In the last 3 weeks, we've gone from nursing about 15 times during the day and night, to 3 times. I nightweaned 3 weeks ago and it was almost like it happened naturally. Our nursing relationship is much better since we've cut back some. If dd continues to nurse, I guess we will be tandeming. I worry about whether or not I will be able to handle it mentally and emotionally. It is a scary thought for me. When my cycles resumed when dd was 14 months, I started getting bad PMS with depression. I was also very depressed during my first 5-6 weeks of this pregnancy. I'm very worried about PPD and tandem nursing.

This is kind of weird. It doesn't hurt that bad when dd nurses, but sometimes afterwards it feels like my nipples have been dipped in acid. Anyone else experience this?

I'm Trish, and I'm in this boat too. Dd is almost 16 m now and I am 17 wks preg.

The pain thing is getting better for me. There for a while it seemed that there was hardly any milk and it really hurt for her to suck, but now it seems like we have more again. It still hurts with the inital latch but not nearly as much. However, they are sensitive all the time and the lightest little touch drives me crazy (not in a good way).

Dd has gone from being almost exclusive b/fing (just starting solids) to nursing 3-4 times a day during the preg. It is hard because I feel guilty that I am making her wean early by being preg, like wildthing said.

I also saw a lot of similarities with us and what Mamma2Addison was saying. Dd will ask to nurse and then suck for 3 seconds, pull off, repeat, and then give up. It makes me feel bad, too.

Like I said, things have been getting better, though, and I am starting to think that she may not wean yet but just keep nursing a few times a day. Only time will tell of course, but I am willing to tandem nurse if she wants it that way.

Hi everyone! I'm a little over 10 weeks and nursing a 22 month old. THis is my second time nursing through a pregnancy, hopefully it will go as well as it did last time. For those of you that are very early in you pregnancy and in pain I just wanted to let you know that latch on pain is pretty much gone. It seemed to have disappeared earlier this week. This past week has been so much easier even though my dd is nursing like crazy lately.

Welcome everyone! I am so happy to have you all join in Thank you for sharing your concerns and hardships, and thank you to all of you with wisdom to share. Thank you all for the positive info too! I have a horrible cold today so I am off to rest up for tomorrow, thankfully I am not doing any cooking this time. But we are travelling and I don't think I will be all well by tomorrow. Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday, talk to you all on friday!
Brandi

Hello to all the Pregnant and Nursing Mommies!
I am 18 wks pregnant and nursing my 20 month old ds..severe breast tenderness started around the 6th week into my pregnancy and has not gotten any better..it's actually get worse..as my pregnancy progresses..and the pain is unimaginable and almost unbearable! I say almost because I plan on tandem nursing and know that my child is yet not ready to wean..so the pain even as bad as it is..I'm still nursing..
but alot of the times it is excruciating..can it get any more painful than that?
What's really driving me nuts is that he's nursing alot more often and nursing at least every 2 hours at night..which means its ongoing pain and constantly..it's really when he first latches on and when my milk comes down..after a few minutes it eases a bit.
I usually just meditate and take deep breathes right before I'm about to latch him on..I guess that's all I can do..
I am sure this tenderness will last my whole pregnancy! and it does kinda scares me a bit..because I don;t know if I'll be able to make it.. :

just a few days ago I thought I'd made up my mind and said I'd just have to wean!..but hearing so many stories and knowing I'm not alone..makes me sigh and feel a great relief!!!!!!!!! and now know that everything will be fine!
When I tell my son..he will get his "Boo" his face lights up with soo much Joy..and everytime I see his precious smile and hear his excitement just makes me that much stronger to keep nursing him and continue to want to Tandem Nurse!

Hi There! Great Thread, thanks for starting it Brandi! I'm about 10 weeks along and have a 18 month old little boy. He still nurses A LOT! We probably nurse 10+ times a day (sometimes these are short quick sessions) and at least 5 times each night. I also have a lot of nipple soreness. I don't have any thirst which is odd, and water doesn't sound good with nauseau so I don't think I'm staying very well hydrated. I drank more water before I was pregnant. I need to work on this. My milk supply has dimished a lot and I'm sure this is why.

I need to night wean also but I don't really know how or where to start. I'm sure there are some great threads on night weaning though. Any suggestions?

So nice to see that there is a lot of Mama's out there still nursing and planning on nursing throughout the pregnancy. People are starting to give me a really hard time about it and think that I have to wean. Interesting....:

Peaceful Mama ~ Nightweaning was a lark for us. Ds and I came down with the flu, and he was so congested and tired that he stopped nursing at night. The first night I thought it was a fluke, but he never started back up.

There is a method for nightweaning specifically geared toward AP, although I haven't tried it myself, that a lot of people seem to have success with. The website is Dr. Jay Gordon.

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to find this thread! I'm 10 weeks pg and still nursing my 33 mo DD. I don't know what will happen over the next 7 months, but DD shows no signs of weaning and I really feel like she needs to lead. I'm hoping I can make it all the way through the pregnancy because I know tandem nursing will help her make the transition to being a big sister! No one in my life right now (except DH ) understands why an almost 3yo still needs to nurse, but she has always been a high needs baby and I'm not going to cut her off before she's ready.

Right now I'm dealing with the pain, and I was coming here to ask if anyone knows if it will get any better! I'm so glad to hear that it probably will. It only hurts right when she latches on, so it's bearable right now...but with the nausea and the exhaustion it's just one more extremely uncomfortable thing in my life right now.

I'm losing weight and hardly eating, but I really feel like the ms is going to start letting up soon. Wishful thinking maybe?

I'm going to buy the adventures in tandem nursing...sounds like just what I need right now.

Hi! I'm currently nursing a 2 yo and 3 1/2 yo. this is the second preg i'm nursing through and i'm 24 weeks. this preg is so diff from the last two. my second preg i nursed my ds the entire length without a problem. abundant milk, no sore nipples, and he was young enough that anytime he napped i could catch up on naps with him. this time around it's harder to nurse. i had no problems nursing two until i got preg. now i have sore nipples a lot (not everyday) and since this time i've nightweaned i noticed my supply has dwindled to almost nothing. i still plan to keep at it, my boys don't want to stop.

i remember the the first time i nursed thru a preg i read that water intake is very important. i'm a huge water drinker, but i made sure i increased my supply. this time around i still drink lots of water, but the sore latchings seems to coincide dehydration. like early morning feedings compared to afternoon feedings. i'm sure there is more to consider, (having a low supply vs abundant supply which is also linked to hydration) but making sure you are very hydrated can take away some of the soreness.

I'm here too! I'm very newly pg (5 weeks tomorrow) and so far ds, who is nearly 3 has really upped his nursing time! I'm a tad more sensitive, but nothing like the tenderness I experienced whie pg with him. I'm tryig to really focus on eating well and staying hydatred and knock on wood, so far my m/s has only been fleeting and is much imporved if I eat anything. So different from my pg with ds where I had m/s from the get go and sore nipples/breasts before I even had a + hpt. I am worried about how he wil react to sharing HIS "bobos" with the baby. I imagine it won't be pretty. Any ideas on how to help prepare him for this?

Hi
Include me in here too..
cool to see so many nursing past 1 and preggo.......and two of you (from what I remember reading) are also nursing a 3 y/o like me cool!
I am just a little paranoid of nursing him b/c of my miscarriage( @4weeks-but never tested positive) in Sept....so I am educating myself all I can....the book you all have mentioned is a must have.......

Glad you ladies are here and I am early too like 4 weeks and 4 days.....
hope we all can benefit from each other.......
and kirstie...I to you...you go mamma!

FreeTo Be~Traci"Living is learning and when kids are living fully and energetically and happily they are learning a lot, even if we don't always know what it is."~John Holt

I am almost 10 wks and nursing my 20 mo old ds. I, too, am experiencing a lot of nipple pain. I am less self-sacrificing than most of you, though, because I don't let him nurse whenever he wants. He has to wait at least a 1/2 hour between feedings for my nipples to recover. I make sure to try feeding him solids every time he wants to nurse (if he had his way, he'd never eat regular food!), so I know he isn't starving. I am trying to teach him that he can have cuddle, mommy time without nursing. It only gets hard at night when he is getting sleepy and wants to nurse all the time. We don't have a set bedtime so that probably doesn't help.

As far as nights go, he generally only wakes about 3 times to nurse. Most of the time I act like I am asleep on my opposite side and he'll settle himself and go back to sleep. So we are nursing to fall asleep and nursing again in the morning so I can get more sleep (it usually buys me at least an hour).

I guess I am the only one here who hopes their dc weans when my milk supply decreases. Kind of makes me feel like a bad mom seeing how determined you all are to tandem. My ds still has trouble seeing my body as mine and not his and I am so tired of that. I think my delay in response at night is working well for night-weaning. Plus it is pretty effortless. If he gets worked up, I nurse him, but most of the time he just goes back to sleep. He has started laying on my pillow, though, so gradually I will be sleeping low down on the bed or closer and closer to dh. We put a pillow on ds's bed last night (crib mattress next to ours on the floor) and it worked pretty well. he lays with his whole body on it.

Julie, you are NOT a bad mom because you are not planning to tandem. don't think that. just trust what you can do and believe in it.

Dalai_mama, i would not worry about your oldest nurser not wanting to share. he can't nurse on two breasts at once! he'll look out after his new sibling just watch! if you feel you must prepare him, just talk to him about how baby's nurse and that his new sibling is going to have to nurse too.